沉

沈

chén

冗 + 氵

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

chén (verb) to sink; to submerge

chén (adjective) deep; profound

chén (adjective) heavy

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 冘 represents the sound. Variant of 沈.

About

沉 (chén) is a phono-semantic compound and a variant of the character 沈. The left side, 氵, is a reduced form of 水 'water' and points to the meaning, while the right side, 冘 (yín), gives the sound. Its original sense was sinking or submerging in water, from which it came to describe things that are physically heavy or burdensome. This concrete notion of weight then broadened into abstract domains, expressing deep or intense states such as deep sleep, a grave disposition, or profound sorrow.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

船慢慢地下沉。

Chuán mànmàn de xiàchén.

The ship is slowly sinking.

他的心情很沉重。

Tā de xīnqíng hěn chénzhòng.

His mood is very heavy.

他沉默地坐在角落里。

Tā chénmò de zuò zài jiǎoluò li.

He sat silently in the corner.

夜色沉沉，街道上空无一人。

Yèsè chénchén, jiēdào shàng kōng wú yī rén.

The night was deep and heavy, and the streets were empty.

历史的尘埃早已沉淀。

Lìshǐ de chén'āi zǎo yǐ chèndiàn.

The dust of history has long settled.

这份沉甸甸的责任我们必须承担。

Zhè fèn chéndiāndiān de zérèn wǒmen bìxū chéngdān.

We must bear this weighty responsibility.

经过岁月的沉淀，他的性格沉稳了许多。

Jīngguò suìyuè de chèndiàn, tā de xìnggé chénwěn le xǔduō.

After the sedimentation of time, his character has become much more steady.

把自己的思绪从回忆中拉出来并不容易，它太容易让人沉溺。

Bǎ zìjǐ de sīxù cóng huíyì zhōng lā chūlái bìng bù róngyì, tā tài róngyì ràng rén chénnì.

It's not easy to pull one's thoughts out of memories; they are too easy to get lost in.

Related Characters

Component: 冗

Component: 氵

沉